A known image reading apparatus includes a scanner housing, a contact glass, an image sensor, and a flat cable.
The scanner housing mainly includes a bottom wall surface, a peripheral wall, and a frame. The peripheral wall protrudes upward from the bottom wall surface. The peripheral wall defines an accommodation area thereinside. The frame faces an upper end of the peripheral wall, and extends substantially parallel to the bottom wall surface with a predetermined distance therebetween. The frame has a rectangular opening formed in a central portion of the frame. The contact glass is supported by the scanner housing, covering the accommodation area from above. The contact glass is exposed through the opening of the frame. A lower surface of the contact glass faces the bottom wall surface. An upper surface of the contact glass constitutes a document support surface.
The image sensor is disposed inside the accommodation area. The image sensor extends in a first direction parallel to the document support surface. The image sensor is configured to reciprocate, inside the accommodation area, in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and parallel to the document support surface. One end of the flat cable is held by the bottom wall surface of the scanner housing and the other end of the flat cable is coupled to the image sensor. The flat cable has a portion that faces the lower surface of the contact glass between the one end and the other end.
In the image reading apparatus, the image sensor is configured to read an image on a document supported by the document support surface while reciprocating in the second direction. At this time, the flat cable follows the reciprocating movement of the image sensor in the second direction, and does not get in the way of an image reading operation by the image sensor.